Ban Straws in Southampton Town

Surfrider Foundation Eastern Long Island is excited to have worked alongside the Southampton Town Green Sustainability Committee to introduce a ban of plastic straws throughout Southampton Town which has over 58,000 residents.  Plastic straws are one of the most common items found at at beach cleanups across the world, and at just seven beach cleanups hosted at Southampton Town beaches, Surfrider ELI has removed 164 plastic straws from our coast, averaging about 23 straws per beach. After the sweeping success of the Strawless Summer Program held by Surfrider ELI and local partners resulted in ~60 restaurants voluntarily signing up to stop their usage of plastic straws, Southampton Town decided to take this one step further. 

A ban on plastic straws in Southampton town will have a tremendous impact on the amount of plastic going into our wastestream, and would ideally reduce the amount of plastic straws found on our coastline. 

On February 12th, 2019 Southampton Town Voted to Restrict the Usage of Plastic Straws, effective May 8th, 2019. 

RES-2019-203 §212-4 Restriction on Straws and Stirrers.

A. All Food Service Establishments and Beverage Providers in the Town of Southampton shall provide straws and stirrers only upon request.
B. All straws and stirrers provided shall be made of non-plastic materials.
C. In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, Food Service Establishments and Beverage Providers may possess up to 20 plastic straws for use only by persons who specifically require them.

In the same legislation, Southampton Town also prohibited the sale, distribution, or possession of expanded polystyrene foam. 

We thank Southampton Town for their leadership in reducing single-use plastics from the source!